Part Thirteen of Six Answers by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

Verses of Qur’an About the State of Perfected Character, Ihsan

Those were some of the verses addressing the discipline of Tazkiyyatan-Nafs, purification of the self. Now we wish to quote some of the verses addressing the state of Ihsan. We are not yet quoting the very important hadith, in which Jibril (as) asked about Ihsan in Umm ul-Hadith in Bukhari. Ihsan is mentioned in Holy Qur’an in many places and we will mention some of them here:

“Inna rahmatullahi qareebun min al-muhsineen.”

(al-‘Aaraaf, 56)

“For the Mercy of God is near to those who are good

(muhsineen)”

and,

“Inna-Allaha ma’a-alladheena ‘ttaqaw wal-ladheena hum muhsinoon”

(Nahl, 128)

“For Allah is with those who restrain themselves and who are good.”

and

“hal jaza’ ul-ihsani illa al-ihsan”

(Rahman, 60)

“is there any reward for Goodness other than Good?”

[the word Ihsan, translated here as Good or goodness, is not adequately conveyed by these English terms, as it is a much more comprehensive meaning.]

and

“wa yajzilladhee ahsanu bil-husna”

(Najm, 31)

“and He rewards those who do good with what is best.”

All of us have memorized the verse, read at every khutbat il-Juma‘:

“Inna-Allaha yaa’muru bil-‘adli wal-ihsaani wa ‘eeta’i dhil qurba…”

(Nahl, 90)

“Allah command justice, the doing of good [ihsan], and giving to kith and kin and he forbids all indecent deeds and evil and rebellion: He instructs you that you may receive admonition.”

Author Spotlight

Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani

A world-renowned religious scholar, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani is featured in the ground-breaking book published by Georgetown University, The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World—2009. For decades he has promoted traditional Islamic principles of peace, tolerance, love, compassion and brotherhood, while rigorously opposing extremism in ... Read Full

What is Sunnah?

The Arabic word Sunnah lexically means "road" or "practice." In the language of the Prophet {saw} and the Companions it denotes the whole of lawful practices followed in the Religion, particularly the pristine path of Prophets, whether pertaining to belief, religious and social practice, or ethics generally speaking.